Recent media
coverage: Full representation, instant runoff voting,
competitive elections and comments by representatives of the Center for
Voting and Democracy (FairVote) continue to be featured in major media
around the nation. Fair elections legislation
introduced in Congress and many states. Highlights are periodically
summarized in FairVote's email
newsletters.

Burlington, VT voters will decide on whether to use IRV in city
elections tomorrow, March 1. IRV has already proven popular in a
non-binding November initiative. See an advertisement placed in Burlington
newspapers by local IRV advocates here.
(February 28, 2005)

Rob Richie and Steven Hill's opinion piece on Instant
Runoff Voting in San Francisco in the Christian Science Monitor
discusses the deeper problems in American elections. (February
25, 2005)

The
potential for minority rule in Congress: FairVote's Voting and
Democracy Research Center releases data showing that legislation could
pass the U.S. House with the support of members elected by just one in
four voters in the 2004 election and far less in the U.S. Senate. (February
14, 2005)

The recent North Carolina Election Roundtables were a big success! See
the upcoming events section of our newsletter
for talks, conferences or other events coming up in your area. (February
13, 2005)

Howard Dean, a proponent
of IRV for presidential primaries, is elected chairman of the
Democratic National Committee by and "in-person IRV" election,
in which there are runoff and eliminations to determine the winner. (February
12, 2005)

Maine will consider implementing IRV for state legislative and
gubernatorial races, and its Secretary of State will soon release a study
on how IRV could be implemented. See FairVote's
submission about the implementation of IRV in Maine. (February
6, 2005)

In Iraq’s
elections last weekend, political parties only needed to capture 1/275
of votes to earn a seat.Iraq’s departure
from the U.S. winner-take-all election methods is particularly revealing,
with the United States seeing that at least in other nations it can be
critically important to ensure key political forces earn a seat at the
table. (February 2, 2005)

Leaders of various pro-democracy groups met to discuss strategy and
organizational techniques at a conference sponsored by FairVote. Stay
tuned for more news about the Democracy USA movement. (February
2, 2005)

"Not
satisfied with tinkering with the little details of electoral reform? Take a
look at some of these bold reforms: American Prospect editor Robert Kuttner
features FairVote and its reform proposals as part of a major issue on electoral
reform. (December 21, 2004)

"Loser take
all." FairVote's Rob Richie and Steven Hill describe how one party could
lose the popular vote for both president and Congress, yet sweep into power.
(October 28, 2004)

British Columbia Moves Forward with Electoral Reform: The Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform recommended that British Columbians adopt the Single Transferable Vote (aka "choice voting") process for their elections! Now the voters of B.C. will cast ballots on STV in a referendum on May 17, 2005. To read more about this exciting development, visit our Electoral Reform In Canada section. (October 27)

Nirvana's Novoselic on
tour for pro-democracy book--and the Center for Voting and
Democracy: Krist Novoselic, founding member of the band Nirvana and
a Washington state political activist, has a new book called "Of
Grunge & Government: Let's Fix This Broken
Democracy." He is launching a national tour for the book and
for supporting CVD. (August 30)

CVD
director to co-moderate third party presidential candidate
debate: Rob Richie is one of two moderators for the August 31 debate
among the three third party presidential candidates on the most state
ballots. CSPAN will televise the debate, which is sure to feature
fair elections. (August 30)

New
York Times editorializes against Electoral College:
The nation's most influential newspaper calls for direct election of the
president. Its call has serious reform implications. (August
29)

Minnesota city to study IRV and fair election methods: The city
council of Hopkins, which was once elected by choice
voting, has established a task force to study fair election voting methods
like instant runoff voting. (August 26)

New report shows voters understand cumulative voting at work: Well over 98% of voters used all four of their votes without error in
Amarillo's May 2004 cumulative voting election, according to a new
report by Professor David Rausch. (August
25)

CVD one of the 11 pro-democracy groups to issue report on presidential
debates: Eleven civic groups, including the Center for Voting and
Democracy, released a report today entitled "Deterring
Democracy: How the Commission on Presidential Debates
Undermines Democracy." CVD's Rob Richie spoke about the report
at the National Press Club. (August 23)

CVD's Election Data Project: The record of state legislative elections in the United States is
lacking. Help document out electoral history.

CVD's
Rob Richie in print: CVD's executive director has written
four articles, including one with Steven Hill, for a book and two
journals. Available as downloads, they are: on the American full
representation campaign from "Steps Toward Making Every Vote Count:
Electoral System Reform in Canada and its Provinces" (Henry Milner,
editor; Broadview Press, 2004); on instant runoff voting for an
"Election Law Journal" symposium on Democracy and Elections in
North America" (Volume 3, Number 3 2004); on full representation and
redistricting reform (from the National Civic Review); and on building a
pro-democracy movement in the United States (from the National Civic
Review). (August 1)

Howard Dean's July 26 syndicated column calls for IRV in presidential
primaries: The former Democratic Party presidential frontunner expands on previous
IRV advocacy for general elections. (July
30)

An alternative for the election of corporate board of directors: Cumulative
voting can be used to increase minority shareholders input
on corporate boards, increase corporate accountability and reduce
corruption. A discussion of the advantages
of cumulative voting, as well as a listing of state
statutes regarding its implementation. (July
29)

CVD Board member Hendrik Hertzberg's new
book includes powerful essays advocating for full
representation and IRV: Long-time New Yorker writer Hendrik Hertzberg's
new collection of his writings, "Politics: Observations and Arguments"
features commentary about the value of electoral reform. Read a recent interview
with the author published in Pioneer Press. (July
7)

The
Washington Post publishes an op-ed defending full
representation in Iraq: Andrew Reynolds explains why Iraq will use a party
list form of full representation in its January 2005 elections. (July
6)

On July 28th, CVD is co-hosting an event
in the City of Cambridge on how innovative election rules can reinvigorate
American Democracy. (July 2)

CVD urges elected
officials to push for more democratic forms of election
systems, especially on the local level. CVD can provide election systems
consulting, as well as resources and assistance with the following methods
of advocating for reform. (July 1)

Women
and the U.S. House: An analysis considering where women may gain or lose
seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2004 elections. (June
30)

2004 presidential candidates call for IRV and full representation: The
leading non-major party candidates for president all back instant runoff
voting and full representation. See statements from Green Party
presidential nominee David Cobb,
Libertarian Party nominee Michael Badnarik
and independent candidate Ralph Nader.
(June 29)

Big month for full representation in Canada: Canadians went to the
polls on June 28 with prime minister candidates from major parties
expressing interest or support in a national referendum on full
representation. Read our page on electoral
reform in Canada, articles on the debate
in Canada and on how a citizen assembly in British
Columbia will select a full representation method for the
ballot. Also, look at a pre-election
and post-election
update from Fair Vote Canada. (June 29)

New CVD commentaries tout IRV: Rob Richie joins with Steven Hill to propose
direct election of the President and to ask in the Nation
Magazine why more Democrats aren't seeking to implement IRV.
Richie and Jennifer Ambler argue in the Myrtle
Beach Sun News that IRV is a big improvement over
traditional delayed runoffs. (June 28)

Voting Reform events during Democratic Convention: On July 26th CVD
sponsors a high-profile
event on the right to vote. Featured speakers
include Rev. Jesse Jackson, Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., Professor Jamin
Raskin and more. The event has limited space. All attendees must
register beforehand by sending your name, address, phone and/or email to
the Center for Voting and Democracy via email (stephcollier@fairvote.org)
or mail: Stephanie Collier, The Center for Voting and Democracy, 6930
Carroll Avenue, Suite 610, Takoma Park, MD 20912. All attendees will need
to present a photo ID at the event. (June 27)

Papua New Guinea has successful IRV election: Papua New Guinea adopted
IRV for parliamentary elections in 2003. Election officials hailed
its use in a recent special
election as a success,
particularly in voters using the system effectively and the system
promoting more positive campaigns. (June 26)

Big win for choice voting in United Kingdom: Scotlandadopts choice voting (aka "single transferable vote")
for city elections. A new reform coalition backs choice voting for local
elections in Wales.
(June 23)

IRV ballot drives in Florida, Washington state and Ferndale, Michigan:
Reformers have launched ballot drives to put IRV on the ballot in Florida
and in Washington
state. The city council in Ferndale
has voted unanimously to draft potential IRV ballot language for November
2004. (June 20)

Ballot measures seeks proportional allocation of electoral votes in Colorado:
A well-financed ballot measure would change Colorado's winner-take-all
allocation of electoral votes to one allocated by proportional
representation. Read comments on a political blog.
(June 15)

London mayoral race decided by IRV, council chosen by full
representation: London mayor Ken Livingstone (first elected in 2000 by IRV
as an independent) was re-elected on June 10 by a limited form of instant
runoff voting. IRV was needed as he won less than 40% of first choices.
The mixed member form of full representation was used to elect the
council. Voter turnout was up from 2000. Read an article in the Guardian
and see the London election
webpage. (June 12)

CVD conducts demonstration
elections with IRV and choice voting
at several events. Read how League of Women Voters members voted on the
most influential women in American history and how various groups voted on
who John Kerry should select as his running mate. Read results of a Nation
magazine election with more than 10,000 participants.
(June
11)

CVD Board
member in American Candidate reality TV show: Boston Vote
founder and CVD Board member Malia Lazu is one of the finalists in
Showtime's new reality TV show to select a candidate for president. Former
CVD field director Rashad Robinson is her campaign manager. (June11)

North
Dakotans strongly rejected a proposed state constitutional
amendment to lift the requirement that corporations use the full
representation method of cumulative voting. South
Korea soon will require all corporate boards to be elected
by cumulative voting. (June 8)

Iraq's elections
in January 2005 and Afghanistan's elections in September 2004 will be held
with full representation: Following South Africa's model, Iraq will hold
January 2005 elections using a very inclusive form of full representation
based on party lists. Women will be sure of winning at least a quarter of
seats. Afghanistan will use a candidate-based form of full representation
for September 2004 elections.
(June 4)

Study
shows big undervote in citywide council elections: Reform
group in Santa Monica (CA) draws significant media coverage for study
showing how the fact that more than four in ten voters did not cast a full
slate of votes in Santa Monica's recent city council races indicates the
value of the choice voting method of full representation. (June
1)

TheWashington
Post'sWilliam Raspberry
argues for the adoption of multi-member congressional districts and
ranked-choice voting, featuring CVD's research on US House races. (May
24)

UC Davis report on choice voting in student elections: University of
California-Davis is one of more than 20 colleges and universities using
fair election methods for student elections, electing its student council
by the choice method of full representation. Advocates provide a choice
voting analysis
(in
pdf) of recent elections. (May 18)

CVD commentary in Legal
Times urges challenge to winner-take-all elections: The
Center's John Anderson and Rob Richie argue that legal challenges to
political gerrymandering would be strongest if seeking to replace
winner-take-all elections. (May 18)

Newsweek On-Line profile of Green Party: Profile of Green Party highlights many of its members' support
for IRV as a means to avoid the "spoiler" dilemma
faced by third parties. (May 17)

Cumulative voting
provides full representation in Amarillo for third school board election:
An African American candidate was elected to the Amarillo (TX) independent
school district on May 15, 2004. A candidate of color has been elected in
all three cumulative voting elections after years of all-white school
boards under winner-take-all. (May 17)

CVD joins coalition seeking full funding for HAVA: States and the Election
Assistance Commission need more fund to help states
implement the Help America Vote Act fairly and fully CVD has joined many
other groups in a letter calling for funds (pdf
file). (May 13)
Utah GOP
convention used IRV to select US congressional candidates
and narrowed an eight-candidate
gubernatorial field to two finalists who will square off in a June
primary. (May 10)

Instant runoff voting at the center of most third-party presidential
candidates' platform: Green party is the most recent to receive coverage.
(May 6)

CVD commentaries on
Supreme Court ruling on gerrymandering: CVD's
Rob Richie and Steven Hill have published commentaries in the Washington
Post and onTomPaine.com.
(May 5)

Numerous Texas
Cities and School Districtswill hold their local city
council and school board elections this May using cumulative voting, a
full representation system championed by legal scholar Lani Guinier and
signed into law by then-governor George W. Bush in 1995. (May
3)

Washington state initiative for IRV launched: Instant
Runoff Washington has formed to collect signatures in 2004
for action in 2005. (April
29)

CVD adds Right
To Vote Amendment page. CVD is currently working with
Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. (IL-2) to promote H.J. Res. 28, an amendment
to add a right to vote to the Constitution. (April
29)

"Touchscreen" company pledges to add ranked-choice voting
capacity at no cost by 2005: AccuPoll,
a major new voting equipment company with a touchscreen system with a
voter verified paper trail, announced today that it would be able to
run ranked-choice voting elections like IRV at no extra cost in 2005. (April
29)

Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling upholding Pennsylvania gerrymander points to
the need for full representation: The Court's ongoing difficulty with a
clear standard to resolve the admittedly awful state of political
gerrymandering argues strongly for full representation. Seetoday's opinion
and commentaryon the
ruling. (April 28)

As in every year since 2001, Utah
Republicans will use IRV this May to select their party
nominees for state and US Senate elections. (April 21)

Additions to data on non-majority
governors: The Center has collected a range of data on
non-majority winners in American elections, including new numbers on
non-majority governors since 1948. (April 19)

CVD executive director on C-SPAN: CVD's Rob Richie spoke at a news
conference covered by CSPAN April 12, 2004 about running debates in the
public interest organized by Open
Debates. (April 16)

Major win for IRV
at the University of Minnesota: An overwhelming 75% of
students voted to adopt Instant Runoff Voting for student elections.
An initiative spearheaded by the Minn. PIRG chapter at UMN along with
other campus organizations obtained the needed votes to put the IRV bill
on the ballot and then campaigned hard for its adoption.(April 15)

IRV adopted
by neighborhood council board in Venice area of Los Angeles. (April
15)

Berkeley votes big for IRV: Backed by the mayor, a city council
majority, and civic groups like the League of Women Voters, Berkeley voted
72%-28% on March 2 to authorize IRV for city elections. (March 4)

CVD-commissioned poll shows support for IRV in
Illinois: Working with the Midwest Democracy Center and Roosevelt
University, CVD commissioned a telephone poll in Illinois on its upcoming
primary elections and on instant runoff voting. See www.primarypoll.com and our
analysis. (February
27)

State legislative redistricting plans tossed in Georgia and North
Carolina: Federal courts this month have ordered new districts for
Georgia because of an equal protection claim and new districts in the
Boston area of Massachusetts because of a voting rights claim. Keep up
with redistricting news in our public interest guide to redistricting.
(February 27)

IRV used in Altie awards: Alternet once
again used instantrunoff voting for its "Alties" awards on movies in
2003. (February 26)

runoff voting and full representation is being debated across the
country, with good coverage in Minnesota and in Washington. (February 26)

California Democratic Party takes action on IRV:
On Jan. 17-18, 2004, the California Democratic Party adopted a political reform
plank that suggests alternative voting methods like
instant runoff voting be explored more frequently. (February 9)

"Millennial Manifesto" book touts IRV and full representation: Scott
Beale of MillennialPolitics.Com has written a youth activist handbook that
examines the issues, individuals, and organizations that are shaping
the modern youth movement. This
chapter highlights instant runoff voting and full
representation a political reform agenda. (February
5)

CVD's Illinois project highlights IRV in primaries:
The Center is launching a major project on the merits of giving voters
fuller choice in primaries. Read "Pick a Winner" and visit www.primarypoll.com. (February 5)

Canadian commission recommends full
representation: Canada's leading newspaper reports
that the National Law Commission will recommend that Canada replace
winner-take-all elections. The Center has compiled information on this and
other moves toward change in Canada.
A leading electoral reform group, FairVote Canada,
summarizes Canadian progress
for full representation. (February 5)

Berkeley votes on IRV ballot
measure on March 2: Backed by the mayor, city council
and League of Women Voters, Measure I would allow Berkeley to replace
December runoffs with instant runoff voting. (February
4)

Fair
and secure voting equipment: The Center has collected links to a
number of sites that address the fairness and security of modern voting
equipment. We urge readers to get involved in this timely issue. (February 3)

National civic leaders from the left, right, and
center of the political spectrum, including the Center's president John
Anderson, have come together to form the Citizens' Debate Commission. The commission
will sponsor fair, innovative and nonpartisan debates among political
candidates. (January 30)

Texas congressional gerrymander upheld: The Supreme
Court has refused to block a ruling by a three-judge panel that
upheld a potentially trendsetting congressional redistricting map adopted
in Texas in 2003 -- a transparent partisan grab by Republicans that could
lead to similar mid-decennial redistricting in other states by both major
parties. See news stories on the Texas page of our redistricting guide, the opinion by the three-judge panel (in pdf)
and a summary of Texas filings compiled by the Brennan
Center for Justice. (January 16)

Time for a right to vote in the Constitution: The
Center held a meeting in November 2003 to consider the merits of adding an
affirmative right to vote
in the U.S. Constitution. Several presenters' papers
are available. (January 14)

Ranked-choice surveys increase in political polling: Pollsters
are more frequently soliciting second choices in polling in
large-candidate fields. (January 14)

British Columbia creates a Citizens'
Assembly on Electoral Reform: The Canadian province
recently established an assembly to evaluate their current voting system
in comparison with others around the world. A decision of whether to keep
the current model or create a new one will be made in December 2004.
(January 12)

Pacifica radio network uses choice voting to elect
listener boards: The five radio stations in Berkeley (CA), Houston, Los
Angeles, New York City and Washington, D.C. that make up the Pacifica
radio network are all holding elections for
listener boards with the choice
voting method of full representation. (January 10)